Misc.

Link Books

On the nightstand

I made this ATC for a swap this week. When I told my husband that I drew a hippo with an umbrella, he said, "That must have been very difficult to draw a hippo with an umbrella!" Ba Dum Dum.

It's been a week. A very long week.

It all started Monday morning as weeks are wont to do. I was so annoyed with my 16 year old son, that when the Roomba wouldn't sit properly on it's charger, I kicked it. Yep, Karma bites and she bit the crap out of me. I'm not sure if I broke or jammed my big toe, but it swelled up and turned a lovely shade of black and blue. This was not the week for me to have to hobble around and not be able to seek any sympathy for my wounded toe.

Then my Fitbit bit the dust. I have been on a winning streak with the weekly challenges I play with a few of my friends and, darn it, I wanted to continue that streak! The good news is my new fitbit arrived today and they have really upped their packaging game! It was as much fun as opening a new Apple product - all those little packages inside packages. As much as I hate spending money on things like this, I equally love the packaging.

Hooch is currently blowing his coat which means I have the pleasure of brushing bags and bags of fur off him each day. On Tuesday, I noticed some patches where the fur was completely coming out so off to the vet we went. He has some kind of skin allergy and my vet had to shave two huge patches off of him. It looked like a sheep was being sheared. Poor guy. He came home and hid in a corner.

After much deliberation and auditioning of tile, we finally came to a consensus this week and ordered tile for the family room. This is the only carpeted room in the house and we always knew we were going to replace the carpet with tile. Having a puppy has done no favors for this carpet and as we are having family visiting next week, my darling husband decided that he was going to get the tile down before they arrived.

I worried about this all night long last night. How was that going to happen between now and Tuesday? How was I going to clean the house with the family room furniture shoved into the living room and everywhere else? I did not want him to rush the job...the worries went on and on so I got up in a state about this this morning. "Relax", he said. He always says this. "I'll take care of it. You don't have to do anything." he said. The red flags were popping up everywhere.

He took up the offending carpet, lifted the pad underneath and low and behold, there was the most hideous 1980's blue-gray, swirly 6 inch square tile, with a grout line 1/2 inch wide covering the floor. There is a god, because he went out, cancelled the tile order and put new carpeting down over it. We will return to that project another day.

Throughout all of these ups and downs, I have been hobbling around preparing to participate in the community yard sale tomorrow. Don't ask why. I don't know. I'm the queen of 'load it up and take it to the thrift store'. I think I'm hoping to have a little jingle in my pocket at the end of the day that I can go blow on more art supplies!

Items are priced, table have been borrowed, and everything is in the garage ready to roll in the morning.

I'll admit it. I'm a podcast junkie. When I'm gardening, I listen to gardening podcasts. When I'm knitting, I listen to knitting podcasts. When I'm cleaning/decluttering/organizing, I listen to cleaning/decluttering/organizing podcasts.

Right now, I'm hooked on a podcast called Organize 365 and one of the podcasts I listened to this morning was about seasonal energy. Lisa Woodruff, the host, was explaining how our energies vary throughout the year. In January, everyone wants to get organized. In March, we all want to clean and declutter. May brings planning for the summer months and so on. Most of her descriptions described my seasonal energies exactly.

This got me to thinking about my seasonal creative energy.

I've noticed through my GoodReads challenges, I read 70% of all the books I will read in a year in the first third of the year. This is also the time when I complete most of the lessons in Life Book or any other online mixed media classes I may be signed up for. In the summer, I knit. This is mostly because we're in the car a lot with baseball tournaments and it's a good way to pass the time. Also, because I live in Florida, I only knit socks and lace so that's really portable. Gardening happens in the summer which is the wrong time to be doing that down here!

This year, I've been making a concerted effort to change these patterns.

Instead of turning on the TV when I wake up in the middle of the night, I'm turning on my Nook and reading. I have made from 2-4pm each day my creative time and I'm spending at least one hour each day in the garden.

I know we're still in the first third of the year, but I'm hoping that by making these dates with myself, I can create new patterns while still conceding to living the "normal" energy flows throughout the year.

When my daughter Lizzy, was little, one of our favorite books to read was "Listen to the Rain" by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault. The beautiful words and illustrations carried us through many afternoon rains.

Listen to the rain,the whisper of the rain,the slow soft sprinkle,the drip-drop tinkle,the first wet whisper of the rain.

I love it when it rains. Living in Florida, it often feels like there are endless "Chamber of Commerce" days. The kind of days where pictures are taken to put on brochures boasting about the beautiful blue skies and sunshine. Usually when it rains, it passes quickly and the sun comes out and the steam comes up, but today, we are having a bonafideRainy Day. I can tuck into my craft room and feel guilt-free about being inside.

So this afternoon, I'll art away, happy as a little clam and Listen to the Rain.

I love it when the Air Show comes to town...at first. At first, the jets roaring overhead give me an adrenaline rush and I watch them with a big goofy grin on my face. At first, I dash outside to watch them knowing that I'll rarely see them because by the time I hear them, they are gone. At first, I'll smile when the Sopwith Camels fly over, looking ancient and clunky, lacking the sleekness of later planes. At first...

By Sunday, I'm done. The teeth-rattling zoom, the window-shaking booms, the bird-scattering screeches give me a headache. My fun meter has been pegged.

This weekend has been further compounded with my husband on the patio watching the golf tournament - The roar of the crowd mixes with the thunder of the jets. All this is punctuated by explosive sneezes as my poor son's allergies seem to be particularly bad today.

When asked where I live, I usually respond "On the east coast of Florida. Near the Space Center." I have also referred to my town as "that smudge somewhere between Cocoa beach and Daytona beach". Don't get me wrong. I love my little town. The thing is, Titusville is kind of like the girl who got invited to the prom and couldn't afford a dress. Titusville lives and dies by the Space program and we suffer from Good 'Ol Boy politics.

But here's the thing: We have the most amazing community theater here! Amazing as in A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. amazing.

Titusville Playhouse is in it's 53rd season. My parents bought season tickets in the late '70s when they moved here. When my father passed away in 2010, I continued paying for them (in his name) because they had great seats and we like to support our community. (I fessed up a couple of years later and was able to keep the seats.) The plays weren't so hot then. Most went along the theme of Arsenic and Old Lace, and Seven Wives for Seven Brothers. ZZZZZ

Then a new manager came in and has blown it up! His first season here included The Graduate in which the nude scene was left intact. I think several of the patrons had a case of the vapors over that one. Then came The Full Monty. More vapors. For four years now, they have been doing a production of Rocky Horror that is unbelievable! We saw Le Mis there and having seen it on Broadway, I can tell you that it was just as good! All at our little theater.

Last night was opening night for The Hunchback of Notre Dame. It was unbelievable!

The set, the music, the singing! I still get goosebumps just thinking about it.

We have guests coming in before this run is over so as soon as we got home last night, we bought more tickets as once the word gets out, this show will be sold out! Can't wait to see it again and I'm sure I'll cry all over again.